I believe we the people must decide and based on the current structure of the already signed deals I say no. We need to first nationalize the potential oil fields and then only then allow for more favourable terms between us and those entities who wish to join us in the exploration and exploitation of them to be negotiated. We are a small but growing nation that the diminishing returns from tourism and a stagnant banking industry will not support our nations growth. The controlled responsible drilling in limited strictly regulated zones may prove an additional boost to our development and medium term solution to our current energy crisis. We all know we can’t continue to play on the global fossil fuel markets anymore the price has become unbearably to high. The fear of the darker side of oil drilling shouldn’t paralyze us and doom our country to futilely attempting to compete for overpriced fuel with the larger nations.

Mandate, What Mandate!!! You didn't get even 50% of the popular vote buddy, and if you want a second term govern as if you are only representing 48% of the electorate and consult with the rest of us on key issues before force feeding it down our throats or the same mandate the FNM thought they had with 48% in ’07 will be revoked next lap. See this is why I fear the PLP the old guard rearing it’s ugly head again.

Well said, it's why I disavowed the old style party system. I wish you all the best with holding their feet to the fire from within the party, because I and other independents will certainly be doing it from outside as well this lap.

I would like to express my condolences to his family and friends. Mr. Jarrett and I had many lively debate on the direction and pace of development of The Bahamas particularly centered around foreign exchange and banking reform, and I look forward to challenging him to do more to advance that in his new appointment. I consider his eldest son a good friend and my heart goes out to him for his family has lost their patriarch. I respected him as man who accomplished a lot personally and for his generation regardless of his political leanings. Let us remember that time waits for no man, and no one is promised tomorrow, as well as that when man falls on the battlefield another must take his place, but never forget those who have gone before thee for it is because of them you are able to charge forward with a little less resistance.

CC the FNMs productivity is noted, dictatorships tend to accomplish a lot more than democratic debate on issues i.e. China vs India, but at what purpose and what is the ultimate cost? When FNM won in '07 I said that the urgency to regain power was driven by their financial benefactors desire to have a direct control over who would get the lion share of the pending record public works projects (New Port, Airport, Road Works etc…) and the $20B of then signed foreign investment deals the PLP initiated. This not the scandals or embarrassing behavior of the PLP was the driving factor behind the millions in contributions that flowed from the foreign interest, Eastern Road and Lyford Cay crowd to finance Citizen Igraham’s return. Thus ensued a 5 year period where Citizen Ingraham like an American politician mostly concerned himself with their agendas and dividing up the pie to them first, all while running record deficits and ignoring the financial ruin. social ills and crime that plagued the majority middle and working classes. Effectively they built a shining city on the hill inaccessible to the average Bahamian, and as long as their PLP nemesis didn’t get it and wealthiest Bahamians and foreign investors prospered it was fine with them. Well it’s not fine with me or many of us and unlike the US the vast majority of Bahamians who are not in the upper echelon of society vote. So all politicians need to face the new reality that they need to address a broader cross-section of society’s issues not just the moneyed up special interest or they’ll be kick to the curb in 5 years too.

People get over this lesser of two evils corner you have painted yourselves in to. For most of us independent thinkers who supported the DNA have rightfully concluded that both the PLP and FNM are equally detrimental to our country's development and the vast majority of our interest. They both have basically the same fundamental positions on the pertinent issues, with the only real difference between their rule is who gets the greater share of the economic pie when either one is in office. For the PLP it is a few elite legacy families and individuals who descend from Africa and are uncomfortably too close to the political and party frontlines. While under the FNM it is mainly so called “Old Bahamian Families" of the established merchant class who lurk in the backgrounds and are the party’s financial benefactors, having had a virtual strangle hold on the economy from before prohibition days. Both negotiate with foreign investors from a position of weakness; allowing them to set our country’s development agenda and sell us out for cents on the dollar. Both neglect the whole development of the citizenry, ignore festering issues, are mired in last century’s thinking and are devoid of innovative 21st century solutions to our problems. So what the DNA represents to us is a glimmering hope of a chance that a younger post colonial Independence Generation lead group of intellectuals, entrepreneurs, professionals, artisans, activist and artist may be able to get past the vitriolic tribal politics of that has disadvantage the majority of us for 4 decades now. So if in building their party’s growing following they represent the votes that either the FNM or PLP mistakenly think caused them to lose another election or two, so be it “A pox on both your houses”.

Congrats to Mrs. Butler-Turner someone who although I disagree with her politics I know is genuinely concerned about people regardless of what an insipid mentally impaired poster who probably never met her in person thinks about her. Unfortunately she is an unapologetic Hubedite and not enough of a break with the recently rejected past the independent voter was hoping for. FNMs don't be afraid to deal with open debate and disenchantment over who the next leader should be; for it would have only strengthened your party in the long run. Failing back to Citizen Ingraham’s handpicked man of business and close personal friend as your leader is a bad first rebuilding move. Now you have the puppet master pulling the strings still only this time from behind the scenes. His insidious take over of the FNM party is complete.

Did construction start in late 2006 with the demolition or when the foundation was underway by early 2007 before the elections which I witnessed with my own two eyes How come this article claims it took the Chinese 3 years to complete? I mean is this revisionist history or are you saying the stadium was finished since late 2009 or early 2010 when everyone could see they were still working on the building in 2011? Tribune get your facts straight please, the election is over we tired of misinformation from all sides.

All the jokes aside, this group of senators as unremarkable as they are along with the newly elected members of the house will find the sledding tough going forward. I spit ball estimated before May 7th that the current budget deficit was going to be about $250M considering the reckless drunken spending of Citizen Ingraham, but imagine my utter shock when another daily reports it could be over $300M (which will probably never be mentioned by this unbiased newspaper). Many of you championed the last administration's as a get it done one, but at what cost? Just like in 2002 with the then record $140M one the PLP will be hamstrung coping with another record election year budget shortfall left behind by the FNM. I hope this time around they all focus on the nation building first and cut out the silliness and self-serving behavior for all of our sakes or we're doomed to continue to be stuck between the pit and the pendulum.

Let me start by saying as an entrepreneur I know first hand big government can become over bearing and gunk up the works if left unchecked, but I hear a lot of nonsensical Fox News drivel about Big Government being spewed on this website all the time. Let's get over the fantasy that big government is all bad; for in the US there isn't one industry besides porn that doesn’t feed at the trough of Big Government or in fact any large company that haven’t made billions from Big Government existence. For even McDonalds gets billions in subsidies to grow cheap wheat for buns and beef for hamburgers, Anhieser Busch does too, hell even Hershey Chocolate made it's first big money in WWII selling chocolate by the ton to the US Army. Everybody from Oracle, Google to Microsoft all count the US Government as their biggest customer. The internet created by US military research, the postal service and highway system allowed everybody from Sears to Amazon to even exist in the catalog and now online sales business. Don’t get me started how these companies enjoy the might of the US military to settle their business disputes: ask Mexico how a few disgruntle farmers in their Great State of Texas or Liberia about Goodyear and Hershey getting the cavalry to come running when they whistled. It’s only when the government on behalf of the citizenry wants to regulate or question the super wealthy or these behemoth companies do they cry Big Government, but when they need tax loop holes, subsidies, grants and free research they’re glad to take it no questions ask. Without Big Government the US today would be half it’s size with dirt roads connecting states and a semi-illiterate farm population, but I guess that’s what conservative Bible thumping homesteaders want them to go back to/ Bahamians think for yourselves these simplistic thinking Americans say they want to reduce government and it’s services, because the nation is browning and it’s a “I don’t want my money to go them” mentality. Let the immigrants and new births have been majority from Europe or of European descent they’d be happy to give them status, a job and share in the wealth of the country.